The National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering (NXS) is offerring students hands-on experience in advanced scientific techniques at national laboratories, focusing on workforce development in neutron scattering and its applications across various scientific fields, fostering diversity.

Participants are engaging in lectures and experiments that cover scattering theory and practical techniques tailored to their research interests, reported Newswise.

Co-hosted annually by three of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science user facilities, this year’s school kicked off at Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source and concluded at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor. It welcomed 60 applicants from North America.

'Scattering is the most exciting way for me to study the materials I am making,' said NXS attendee Anya Mulligan, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

'I’ve never done a beamline experiment before, and this experience has expanded my field of view. I also had not seen a national lab. Getting to see the equipment and talk to beamline scientists has given me so much more perspective on what I can do. I really thought I would be an industry engineer. Now I think a national lab could be a really great place to work. The people I’ve met so far seem really happy.'

The programme fosters diversity, drawing students with varying levels of experience in neutron scattering. Yuxuan Zhang, a former studeant turned lecturer, underscores the value of NXS in introducing these techniques, allowing students to enhance their research methodologies.